One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture

Anderson begins One Size Fits None by discussing conventional farming. Through Part 1, she explains why this conventional strategy is not sustainable. Conventional farming destroys the environment. Part of the reason this occurs is because farmers feel disconnected from their surroundings. Many do not realize that what they pump their crops and animals with also has profound impacts throughout an ecosystem. Western corn rootworm is now resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup Ready due to overuse. This resistance developed because farmers continued to add more and more of the synthetic chemical to corn as the pests slowly became resistant to it. The scarier impact is what this chemical is doing to the human body, since humans are now consuming more chemicals; something which scientists are still trying to understand.

The “get big or get out” edict has also trapped many farmers. While corporations tout industrial farming as a profit-making, secure career path, the reality is this system “hasn’t translated into higher profits, less risk, or more security” (34) for most farm families. Instead, conventional farmers are often left with equipment that they barely use. As one example, Roth Farms is forced to continue growing beans and radishes, which do not make money, because their packinghouse has specialized lines for these two vegetables. Ryan’s family must grow enough beans and radishes to at least keep the lines operational.

Industrial farming has also destroyed rural communities and farming families. Super farms continue to buy out small- and mid-size farms. As a result, farming families are being pushed out of their communities. Conventional farming is also a hard lifestyle, as illustrated by Ryan constantly being on the phone having to deal with fires throughout the day. Anderson’s own father also illustrates this reality. He rarely travels because the workload on his farm prevents him from doing so.

Anderson also illustrates how sustainable agriculture is not the answer to conventional farming. While “sustainable” agriculture has long been a buzzword in both the farmer and rancher community and broader American society, Anderson argues that society needs to move beyond this notion. Because much of the country’s agricultural land is already severely degraded, sustainable agriculture means “maintaining a less-than-ideal status quo” (xii).

The only option that ensures a secure and healthy future for farming, farming families, rural communities, environments, and society is regenerative agriculture. This farming strategy corrects many of the issues inherent in conventional farming. Regenerative strategies, like holistic management and mob grazing, help revitalize environments. One poignant example of this is when Gabe describes his fields during a winter storm. When there was 120 inches of snow, the Game and Fish Department flew over his farm and counted nearly 1,000 deer on a small piece of land. In contrast, his neighbors had none. Gabe’s hard work to restore the health of his soils is the primary reason why deer returned to his property, especially in the dead of winter.

Regenerative farms are far more flexible and resilient than their conventional counterparts. Kevin is able to tailor his produce to restaurant chefs’ requests, in part because of his small-size. This stands in stark contrast to Ryan, who is unable to stop growing beans and radishes because his family sunk money into expensive equipment.

Finally, the regenerative farmers interviewed in Anderson’s book have happiness in common. Part of this happiness stems from being able to spend time with their family. Fidel notes that he works on the farm in the mornings and spends time with his family in the afternoons and evenings. Likewise, Kevin emphasizes how he tells his employees to prioritize family over work. Prioritizing family is incredibly difficult for conventional farmers. Ryan’s own employees, many of whom are foreign workers, are unable to return home for funerals and weddings.

Throughout the book, Anderson repeatedly illustrates that regenerative farming is truly the only path forward for the American food production system. Compared to conventional and sustainable practices, regenerative practices are the only ones that prioritize farmer and ranchers, communities, and environments equally.

All of the regenerative farmer and ranchers in One Size Fits None view themselves and their farms and ranches as part of the ecosystem. This belief stands in stark contrast to the traditional narrative on how humans should interact with nature. Influenced by Judeo-Christian tradition, most Americans, including conventional farmers and ranchers, believe that humans should dominate and control nature. This view, known as the dominion narrative, encourages humans to see themselves as separate from nature. One of the most poignant examples of this is the American Southwest. Despite this part of the country being in a severe drought, farmers continue to use practices, such as continuous cropping and massive fields with few fencerows, which exacerbate water issues. Yet, Anderson’s case studies show that when farmers and ranchers acknowledge the interconnectedness of the ecosystem, it results in healthier food and environments and greater profit.

Phil’s holistic management strategy illustrates the interconnected ecosystem theme. His farm is located in the Great Plains. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, bison roamed the grasslands. During this time, there was incredible wildlife and plant diversity. With their near extinction by humans, the grasslands ecosystem radically changed. Much of the diversity disappeared, resulting in the land becoming barren. Phil’s reintroduction of bison, however, has started to restore some of the prairie. Diversity is returning and his land has fewer bare spots compared to his neighbors. It might seem astounding that the removal of a single herbivore would have such ramifications throughout an ecosystem; yet this supports how interconnected both the micro- and macroscopic creatures are within an environment.

Another example of the ecosystem’s interconnectedness involves pesticide residue. Corn is the primary food for CAFO-cattle, and it is “chock-full of pesticide residue” (85). As cattle consume the corn, the leftover chemicals accrue in their flesh. Humans then consume this meat. Because meat consumption has risen substantially in the US, Americans are consuming more and more pesticide residue. As a result, Americans are more toxic than they were 100 years ago. This example illustrates how what farmers put on crops reverberates throughout the ecosystem.

Regenerative farmers understand that manipulating one piece of the ecosystem impacts everything else, which counters the conventional argument that “one action or input does not yield one result or output” (72) in nature. To Anderson, conventional farming uses extreme measures that thwart the incredible diversity found within nature. Anderson stresses the importance of interconnectedness through regenerative farming because it reconnects farming to the land; something which conventional practices have obliterated.